It is time to find food for the evening meal. It is also too hot to really cook, so here is an easy recipe which uses fresh from the garden tomatoes and basil!

Colorado rock and wild flower.....we loved our trip! We saw many flowers and carpets of ferns beneath the aspen trees!

The place we stayed in Steamboat Springs was delightful on it's own! My SIL always has a fantastic home!

I especially loved these chairs....to look at, not necessarily to sit on! I'll come back later with more details....we did JUST get home!

An escape from the heat of summer????

We drive to Steamboat Springs, Colorado tomorrow.....to visit family. Fun!

[The website, "Stuckntexas", for this fantastic photo is here!]

I'm hoping to see lots of mountain wildflowers and will try to post some photos!

(I know I am far behind on posting photos of the twin granddaughters....life at their home, is so busy with caring for them that sharing the photos are not a priority yet!)

Today is too hot to do much, I will be picking Mom up from getting her hair done, and earlier I waited while new tires were installed on the car. I had a good book with me, so the time went quickly!

I can recommend this one! It grabs you from the opening sentence on!

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Then, while I was "playing" around on line, looking for a printable coupon, I left a review...

Originally submitted at Bob's Red Mill

Black Turtle Beans have a wonderful flavor all their own. They make delicious black bean soup and great refried beans for Mexican dishes.

Bob's Red Mill Black Turtle Beans are my daughter's favorite. She fixed them for us while I was helping her with the new babies. I couldn't believe how much better than other balck beans they were!

We are having an owner appreciation weekend at our local natural foods co-op and I plan to stock up on these!

Pros: Flavorful, Unique, Vegetarian, Satisfying, Health

Best tasting Black turtle beans we have ever eaten!

Blogger insists on spreading this post with lots of empty spaces.....of course, Blogger is FREE!

Happy to be back home, feeling rested after being a loving, caretaker, Grandmother of my daughter's newborn twin girls! Tonight we have a friend coming for dinner....

I will be making a coconut cake today. The recipe is here, from "TASTE of the SOUTH" magazine. I will make only one layer...but will use all the right ingredients to make it really a strong coconut flavor!

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The last evening I was at my daughter's, I baked this almond cake (gluten free) from a traditional Spanish (or even older Jewish Passover) recipe. Delicious!

The top is lightly glazed with orange marmalade (there is orange zest in the cake).

Two sweet bundles, ready for who knows what next....they have just had their baths and are recharging their batteries with their pacifiers and a little shut-eye! Won't last long, we know!

They are fabulous! And quite a lot of work, of course.

Mom would love some good sleep and Dad too!

Their Uncle Andrew and their Granddad were here this week....much to the delight of the 2 older grandchildren!

We are all watching "THE NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY" on DVD. filmed in Botswana and wonderful!

I leave in 2 days....and Laura does have help coming!!!

I will miss these cuties!

Please, go to sleep now little Sophie Jane! Your twin sister Nina Kate has been peacefully sleeping for at least an hour!

Sunday morning with the 2 week old twins..... they seem to have different temperaments too!

Nina Kate is quiet, her gray blue eyes seldom open. She eats and sleeps....Sophie squirms, watches, wiggles, is perhaps more high maintenance...still beautiful and SWEET of course!

This morning, in trying to get her down, (which is usually a simple process) she went through 3 diapers and 2 clothing changes in 10 minutes....then she was "Miss Bright Eyes"!

So, I think I can get down to the kitchen for my breakfast and coffee....s-h-h-h-h!

It's a great time.....babies to cuddle and a 3-year-old too! [Big sister helps with all the cuddling, rocking, diaper changing etc.]

The week-old twins and their parents are off to the pediatrician for their first check-up. And weigh-in.

They have been doing well!

Now, I have a minute to blog! Ha! [I hope to have photos of the babies on here soon, this is not my computer nor do I have a camera along. I'll share the family photos when I can.]

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Meanwhile, I am enjoying this landscape by Pierre Bonnard.....with its wonderful blues and lime greens. Inspiration for a future art project, I'm sure.

I am also ordering a copy of this new book.....an elegant travelogue as the artists follows the history and culture of indigo throughout the ages.

On a lighter note, I have been reading Mary Kay Andrew's latest novel, "the Fixer-Uppper".

Set here in Georgia and lots of fun!

Lovely and peaceful!

These little beauties come home tomorrow!
NINA KATE and SOPHIE Jane.


So cuddly! And they are getting lots of loving kisses and pats from the Big Brother, age 3 1/2.
The big Sister, just shy of 12 years old is already a great little mother to them!


They were 4 weeks early but are just perfect...and it is very peaceful when they are sleeping like this!
(photo from their Mom's iPHONE this morning)

My daughter, Laura with her family as they await the approaching birth of twin girls!

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Another grandchild, a little boy is coming soon, to my son's family. He will sleep in a cradle like this one....

.... and have a handmade quilt for that cradle. A copy of a 19th century crib quilt....(made by his Grandma Lila, with good wishes and joy in every stitch!)



And to complete this moment of expectations....a lovely post by Ann Voscamp which involves a baby in a cradle.[As only she can write...breaking our hearts open!]

I am joining something.....joining the thousands of people who have bought and loved Ann Voskamp's book! It is Christian writing which does not insult my intelligence nor lead to nit picking theological disputes. It just celebrates and beauty and joy found all around us!

For more about this best-selling book, look here.

Off to get my copy now....it wasn't easy to find! I called and they are holding their last copy!

P.S. For some beautiful writing and photos, just Google Ann Voskamp blog. Enjoy!

Summer sewing and gardening.....

Using my vintage Laura Ashley pattern, with a few changes (zipper instead of buttons and several darts added to give more shape), from some shasta daisy cotton print, I sewed this retro romper...

It was perfect to wear this morning, out to water the garden and catch a few Ozark breezes!
(please excuse the toes in the photo...my current photo editing system hasn't yet shown me how to crop the image!)

Some shots from the garden this morning. A rainy spring has made things very lush.


... lamb's ear above, bee balm and lemon verbena below.



Day lilies are going crazy!

I especially love this soft gold one with the freckles!

Painting practice this morning.


The last page in my watercolor sketchbook. I used this moleskine when taking an on-line class with Jane LaFazio (through Joggles.com). Jane is a good teacher and I really enjoyed it!

Frankly pleased with my new "floaty" sundress.....it's in the 90's here! I'm still a gal who loves the Laura Ashley look! This is my own adaptation of her pattern (funny how my figure has changed in 20 some years!!!)...found ancient pearl buttons in my button jar too!

Now, this dress cost me quite a bit, as I had to buy a new sewing machine to make it!!! LOL!

I love the automatic buttonholes on the Janome! It took less than 15 minutes to make all 7, and I'm just learning the machine!

Mom had reminded me that I could do the buttonholes by hand,...and wouldn't that be charming????? Of course it probably would have taken me 4-5 hours rather than 15 minutes!

I love getting a consistent well-made, perfectly sized for the buttonhole result with the machine...and with 3 grandbabies coming this summer, I'm sure to use it!

Summer mornings, once again I'm out of the house to water everything...

It is still cool enough (barely) that the leaf lettuce is thriving! I love fresh salad from the garden!

It won't be long before the lettuce "bolts" and goes to seed as the cilantro is doing.
I'm putting in annuals for the duration of the summer back here. Zinnias are coming up among the coleus!

In a bed nearby, I have planted 4 tomatoes, 1 Black Crim, 1 Cherokee Purple and 2 Arkansas Travelers. I was surprised to see several coming volunteer from last year's tomatoes...what fun!

After the garden chores, it is time to be inside with air-conditioning. Mom and I are making a few charity quilts. I have lots of fabric to "work up"! Here Mom is taking a break from piecing 4 patches on the antique Singer Featherweight. I have the new Janome to "break in"!

We came home from our trip to see family and found the hydrangea in full bloom for the first time!

I love the deep pink! This is an "Endless Summer" hydrangea which is supposed to bloom all summer....we shall see!

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With summer humidity coming and Memorial Day yesterday I am craving a floaty sundress!!

Yesterday, I was at work, patterns were 99 cents each. I bought several and some fabric. However, I am SO happy that I have kept my old (1980's) Laura Ashley pattern. It is modest, comfortable, actually "floats" rather than "fits" and is a great pattern to showcase a fabric!

So, no form-fitting plunging necklines, no spagetti straps, no skimpy skirts....this is my favorite!!! [And the romper might be cute for gardening too!] Off to the sewing room now!

Appreciating the garden at this moment.

St. Francis with the hostas.

"Endless Summer" Hydrangea beginning to bloom. Below a lily is delightful!

All is quiet and peaceful now....more severe weather expected this evening and into the night.

90 miles north of here, the city of Joplin, Missouri, is in shreds from Sunday evening's tornado. No peaceful garden there....reminding us how quickly things can change and how to savor the little things!

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I am finishing up some projects to take to my daughter's. Here, knitted caps and sweaters for the expected twin girls!

Three irregular and free form art quilts are now mounted on light green acrylic paint- washed canvas panels.

I love seeing them all together on the primitive bench!

What a fun class! My little shrine art quilt is finished!

It just found its home surrounding a small incense burner in my studio (trying to get out the musty smells from all the rain, AND wanting the smell of the yoga studio I go to!).

One more art quilt lesson left, then I will be "on my own" and really missing the teacher, Jane LaFazio!

A photo of a Japanese flycatcher was the inspiration for this small art quilt. A friend had given me a piece of golden dragon fly fabric which is perfect with it! Primitive, playful and irregular, embellished with lots of embroidery, these art quilts are small treasures!

These were created as I am taking a class with Jane LaFazio at Joggles.com. The last one is based on the line of poetry "My heart is like a singing bird" (Christina Rosetti) and has hearts and music LOL!

Our fifth and current class is on making a 3-dimentional art quilt which can stand alone. A "shrine". I am planning one with a lotus inside, using some of my Japanese indigo antique fabrics and....

embroidered trim from the sleeves of this tunic. The tunic is from a thrift store but the sleeves are too tight. So it is a low cost way to find some ethnic embellishment if I cut them out, making the tunic sleeveless now ( pj top for summer???), and use the trim from the ends of the sleeve in decorating this next art quilt!