{Virtual Coffee} 7

Good morning Virtual Coffee (and Tea) friends! 

 It's a hot and muggy one here, but thankfully, I'm comfortably inside
our air-conditioned house,
where I shall try to remain as much as possible.

   I hate to admit it, but I think that I may be more in contact with some of you "virtual" friends than my "real" friends.  Is that a horrible thing?  I don't really think so.  We are all busy with our families and the kids' activities (and laundry, cooking, paying bills, etc.)  And truth be told, I'm not a big fan of talking on the phone, especially when my young ones are around.  I usually talk to my sister at some point every day (after the kids have been dropped off at school or camp), but as far as friends in real life go, I prefer to see them in person and just talk on the phone to try and schedule a get-together.  (Unless, of course, there is a crisis or problem, and then I'm happy to lend an ear).
   My two children don't often permit me to have conversations with others-- whether its the Hubster when he gets home from work, or another parent or adult.  This is a constant battle-- trying to teach the kids to WAIT their turn-- when I am in a conversation or making a business call.  The kids are always vying for attention.  But I guess that's the nature of kids.  I do have to admit that it gets frustrating.  They even try to be polite and say, "Excuse me!", but when they repeat it over and over, it's kind of missing the point.
(Phew!  Sorry for the rant-- had to get it out).

At any rate, how was your week??
Any fun summer activities or vacations or outings?

In all honesty, I'm feeling rather uninspired and not very conversational today.

Do you get like that?

Perhaps its due to the heat? anxiety? post-menstrual blues? (is there even such a thing?)   Can't explain it really...

But I do enjoy these weekly Virtual Coffee link-ups, so I'm going to post, even though I thought about taking a break this week.

I am actually writing this at 4:30pm.  I drank my coffee hours ago.  And it does feel weird not to be sipping on my mug as I write this.

How 'bout some visuals?
Two of my favorite flowers in my garden are in bloom:

Of all the lilies we have, this one is my favorite.   The golden ones are done (for now) and the pale orange ones are pretty, but there's something about the deep-red-rusty-orange of this one that I just love.

And of course, echinacea.  Mine are getting really tall, and I've cut the tallest ones and put them in a vase.  There are many more buds getting ready to open.  This particular flower emerged amongst the foliage of our Dwarf Japanese Maple, that is not doing too well.  It's been sick for years, and at some point we may have to cut it down.

   I've seen some lovely blooming flower photos-- and some very artistic perspectives captured-- on some of the blogs I follow.  What's in bloom where you are?  Do you have a favorite?

The hummingbird has been coming to visit our Bee Balm, but s/he usually gets spooked when I go sit outside.

   We had a fun-filled week, but unfortunately, I did not document it with my camera.  We had two (crazy) nights of sleepovers with the kids and their cousins.  On Saturday, we went to a Pickin' & Fiddlin' festival in one of the small, quaint towns in the Litchfield Hills-- it was a lot of fun.  They have a great outdoor playground there.  On Sunday, we had an outdoor birthday dinner for my stepson who turned 25, with a few friends and family.  Sometimes, I just prefer to enjoy the moment(s) rather than trying to capture it with my camera.

   I did receive an exciting package in the mail:  the fabrics from the Rainbow Charm Swap that I am participating in, hosted by Jennifer over at Ellison Lane Quilts.  28 participants are in the swap, and each of us is assigned a color.  We all purchased one yard of fabric, and cut it into 56  five-inch squares. We then sent them all to our host, Jennifer, who sorted and mailed 2 squares of each color to everyone.  Here's what it looks like laid out on the table:

My assigned color was orange (extra square in the middle) with Jennifer's (swap host) card;
[hard to read in the photo, but it says Ellison Lane Quilts]
There are some beautiful charms in there, and unfortunately,
the quality of my photography does not do the colors justice.

   I haven't figured out what kind of pattern/quilt I am going to make with them yet, but I'm sure there will be some pretty beautiful creations from the group.  I look forward to seeing what others in the group produce, and I pray that I find something that is appropriate to my level and don't feel inferior to some of the more seasoned quilters in the bunch.  

   Let me take one last look and see if I have any more visuals to add...

Okay, so today's post may be somewhat lame, but that's where I'm at right now....

I look forward to reading your contributions tomorrow am (when I'm sipping on coffee!)

If you want to link up or read other {Virtual Coffee} posts, here's the link: Lucky Number 13

Time, now, to go make dinner...

Have a great week!