Quiltcitement!

I got to work on a lovely quilt project recently. Twenty-five friends worked on squares for the quilt to give to our dear friend Camile, who has just checked into the hospital for a month-long stay to get a bone-marrow transplant. She finally opened the package yesterday. I have been on the edge of my seat for weeks in anticipation. There is nothing more rewarding than quilting a project made with so much love. Here are the pictures of the completed quilt and the little booklet that we made to go with it. Every person got their own spread with a picture of their square and a little note. My favorite part of this craftventure was seeing the amazing work of people who do not ever craft--they just rose to the occasion and did so with stunning results. I also enjoyed hearing two grown men argue over whether they had made a square for a "quilt" or a "blanket."

"But, you see, it is a quilted blanket."

Mine was the mini-robot square, of course.

Tillie's was a book, because she and Camile like to read together.

Fountain o' Fun

Better than a water park:

Wee Crop

Banana peppers have been flavoring my beans:

Tiny watermelon or giant marble? (Sadly shriveled up a couple of days ago):

Jalapenos that need picking:

Some see a baby cucumber; I see a future pickle:

Water Walking

I love the way she bobs around like an astronaut on the moon:

First Crush

Tillie has a crush on DJ Lance from the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba. She screams whenever this favorite show comes on:

Ready to Go

Pool Party

Tillie and her cousin enjoy a dip in the pool.

Brace Yourselves...

These pictures illustrate a horrible and violent story that has a happy ending...well kind of...I’m not really happy about it just yet. I’m still a bit rattled.

Okay, here is what happened. Our neighbor’s dogs got into a fight with our dogs through a hole in our fence. They chewed up Zephyr so much he had to have the entire front leg amputated as a result. Athena fared much better, only needed stitches, a shunt, and a little splint. That’s it. The dogs lived. No humans were hurt. Tillie wasn’t home to see it. We somehow have enough money/credit to get the pups fixed up and buy a new fence. Even the giant bloody smear can be cleaned out of the car’s leather upholstery.

But, it’s not really all that happened. This horrible lady whose five crazy dogs live behind me said things to me that I cannot get out of my head. They were so inhumane and un-empathetic and thoughtless that I can’t even repeat them. And the hard part is I can’t really hate her. I mean, I do hate her—I just don’t feel good about it. She is mentally ill. She is diagnosably paranoid. She is a horrible drunk—not a festive “baracha” party-girl—the kind of drunkard that slobber-rants at shadows and falls over and smells like liquor at 4 in the afternoon. How do you hate someone like that? Perhaps I can loathe her—that word is soaked in a little more pity than hate. Yes, that is how I think I will describe it from now on. I loathe my next-door neighbor. I loathe the person who lives near me permanently. I loathe the person whose house I see every time I walk through my kitchen. I loathe the person whose miserable problems have leaked over the fence into my life.

Scott says he feels that the experience made him grow, for the better. I’m not there yet. I definitely feel different from before, but it’s not the beautiful feeling of growth that results from overcoming the pain of getting your heartbroken. I don’t have a deeper understanding of poetry or art. I am not inspired to create things or express myself. I’m not a better person. No, really, I just feel like the world is a little uglier than before. Animals are wilder and more unpredictable than before. People are meaner and stupider than before. I’m a little less in control of the safety of my loved ones than I was before.

PS. Okay, maybe there is one ridiculous tiny upshot...Dare I say that Athena looks even cuter with her little pink and purple cast? It is true!

The Tiniest Forager

Sadly, my slow photography skills could not capture the adorable tantrum that Tillie threw because she was not strong enough to lift this watermelon. Fortunately for our little terror, auntie Karin arrived in time to lend some muscle.

Toot Toot

Tillie could not figure out how to operate this party horn. Instead of blowing into it, she just made her own noise into it, as if it were a kazoo. It worked, so who was I to criticize?

Vantage Point

The Fly Whisperer

We went to a party last week and there were about a dozen or so flies hanging out by this one set of windows. Tillie, who lately has been fascinated with insects (and flies in particular), was quite tickled to have so many playmates. She calls all bugs "bees" and if they are very small, they are "baby bees." She played with the flies for about 20 minutes before she actually caught one! The poor fly was still alive, but not long for this world due to the toddler-pinch-of-death grip Tillie had on its hind quarters. She carried that wriggling fly around for another 20 minutes saying "bee, bee, bee" and showing it all of her favorite parts of the house and introducing it to the other flies. She then proceeded to pitch a giant tantrum when I took away her little buddy and made her wash her hands. Okay, maybe I am the bad guy here, but playing with animals that hang out it poop and give birth to maggots is disgusting in my mind.

Here's some video footage of yet another young entomologist moment:

Parading Around

The 4th-of-July neighborhood parade:

Tillie's future boyfriend?

See, they have a lot in common--a passion for watermelon and red t-shirts on the 4th and...wait, pretty much everyone here could be her boyfriend!

Home Economics

Home-grown tomatoes from generous neighbor's yard and basil from my own:

Emily and I baked apple pies using her new crust recipe (delish!):

This pie is made with filling from our canning fest last summer--made with fresh-picked Nebraska farm apples!