Slow week in N. Michigan

It has been a slow week here in T.C.  School started so I went in this past week and helped a little in Molly's classroom.  They have a "new to Third Grade" teacher on the team now because of all the changes and a couple of layoffs.  He is an experienced teacher but most of his experience is in middle school so he is kind of scrambling to learn the program.  I helped him with some organization things for his classroom and am going in tomorrow morning to teach his class while he does some individual testing with his students.  I told him that I wouldn't do the testing ( I always hated this test when I had to administer it) but I am able to teach his class for the morning and let him do the testing.  I think I will go in twice a week this year.  There have been a LOT of cut backs with things like aides and so they really could use the help.  Many of the classes have increased class size too.  I don't regret not teaching, especially since I do get to 'dabble' in it now and then at my convenience. 

I did work on a quilt this past week though.  Continuing with the theme of using up my 'stash' I cut out this quilt and put it together.  It is an easy quilt to put together.  I was thinking of putting the 'pinewheel' scrap quilt on the back of this one (You can check an older post for a picture of that quilt)  but I decided it would be too busy to have these 2 colorful quilts back-to-back.  Now I need to make a back for each of them.  I was trying to use up my stash and not buy any new fabric but there is a big sale at a local quilt store this weekend so maybe I will try to find something to go on the back of each of them.  Like I said they are VERY bright but interesting.  They are 'up for grabs' if family is interested.  It will be on a first come basis.  They both would fit on a double bed and cover the mattress.  The bed that they are on in this picture is our king size bed so it just goes to the edge and a little over. 

 I do like this pattern and it was so easy. 

Some of you might recognize some of the fabrics in this quilt.  I can tell you where each of them came from.  The quilt does tell a story. 

Bud continues to work on his outside work.  He is almost done.  He has managed to get himself a walkway all the way around the house. He had a goal of building some kind of flat surface around the perimeter of the house.  Yesterday he bought the last pieces of paving cement blocks to put by the back door.  Then he put the flat stones back in the area outside our kitchen window.  I think he is done building decks and moving stones.  He also planted some grass next to the retaining wall so it should grow this fall.  He is going to wait until spring to plant wildflowers next to the driveway on the other side where we put the ivy.  He wants something growing there until the ivy takes over.  NOW I need some visitors to check out all our work.  Fall is a beautiful time in N. Michigan so 'come on up'. 

The house has been a big focus for this summer and of course an unexpected event hit us last week, the dishwasher decided to leak and we had a repairman tell us it needed to be replaced.  I was shocked to find out that appliances last about 10 years now.  That isn't good.  We have been washing dishes by hand this past week.  (I don't know how those pioneers did it, washing those dishes in dishpans AFTER they heated the water over the fire).  We have a new on now. 

Well, that is all the little stuff that has been going on here.  Maybe more exciting things have been going on in your life???