Whew, what a busy few weeks! Since we last "talked" I've been on three more business trips! I've been home for a few days and I am SO HAPPY to sleep in my own bed. (There are two more business trips coming soon. I cancelled my annual birthday vacation to Santa Fe because I just simply cannot even think of getting onto another airplane and sleeping in another hotel, even if it's for a fun trip.)

So to keep my life in balance, when I am at home I've been getting out of bed at 6:30am. I am definitely not an early bird at all, but I find that if I go to sleep earlier, then I actually WANT to do things in the morning. (Now, getting out of bed at 3:45 so that I can catch a 6am flight is something else entirely!) Now I have time in the early morning to take care of the outdoor flowers and to sew. That way I feel like I'm in control of my day, and I've accomplished something before I even start my real work. (I know that lots of you probably are early morning people and learned this secret a long time ago!)

I am fully caught up on ALL four of my blocks-of-the-month programs! Here are all of the Fig Tree Red & Cream BOM blocks. There is just one month left, and we've been told that there will be a center medallion block so I am dying to see how this is all going to come together. Maybe I'll have a new red and cream quilt just in time for Christmas.

In house news, our landscaper was here this week to rework the front of the house. We've been plotting this for several months. Gone are the prickly barberry bushes, burnt cypress plants and red lava rocks, replaced by two types of holly, arborvitae, hydrangeas and finally, wood mulch. I'll have to show you the before and after shots soon. MUCH BETTER.

I will be back on Sunday with the latest block in the Patchwork Quilt Along!