Pillow Cases & a Chickadee

Whew! It is HOT here. A good excuse to stay inside and sew! Pam & I wanted some more summery pillow cases, so last time we were together we went to the fabric store and picked our favorites. Pam likes the brighter colors and the retro look, and I went for muted and the garden connection. I love doing these with a contrasting fabric for the ends. I did two cases for Pam and two for me, plus a travel-sized case for me as well. They turned out great. Mom says she wouldn't mind having some more as well... back to the fabric store; love that place.

I caught this cute chickadee resting on my tomato cage in the garden. I love the birds, and have two feeders out. One has niger thistle in it and the gold finches love it. The other has a no-mess mixture, which means the seeds don't sprout in my lawn. We get a good variety of birds to this one, including red-winged blackbirds, brewer's blackbirds, sparrows, chickadees, house finches and doves. We also have ground-feeders... robins, grosbeaks, and the occasional quail. There is something very relaxing about sitting on the patio with an iced tea or coffee, watching and listening to the birds. Once in awhile O'Reilly will half-heartedly give chase to the ones on the ground, but he's only doing it for show.