My dear friends, I can not believe that all of June has passed without a post... June is always a full month and this June has been particularly hectic. I feel like we have been on the dead run for the last two weeks. Friday was our last day of school. We had our year end celebration the previous Friday where my students danced and sang for their parents followed by cake and juice. The report cards are done- the classroom is cleaned out and summer vacation has begun. This beautiful bundle of flowers contains some of my very favorite ones- My husband brought home spider mums, tiger lilies and sunflowers - at one point there were even irises in it. It was a spectacular bouquet filled with color that kept me going while I was writing year end reports..

Bruce has loved science and astronomy since he was a boy. Earlier this month, he was honored by the Telus world of Science for having doing volunteer work them every year for the past 25 years. He and Peter began volunteering at the Science Center 25 years ago. Bruce shares his passion for the night sky ( day sky too) with the public on Saturday afternoons during the school year. He is a public interpreter and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. Recently, he and another fellow went up north to Yellowknife to view the Transit of Venus. The transit is sort of like a mini solar eclipse with Venus passing in front of the sun. It had four contact points that they hoped would be visible from their vantage point. Fortunately they were able to see it as it an will not happen again for 117 years.

A dear friend gave me these beautiful Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls for Annabelle. Unfortunately I was ill with a head cold when she celebrated her birthday. You can see that she is enjoying playing with them with her aunt. Sometimes it is hard for us to get together, so Annabelle received them in an unusual place - The Winspear Theatre where we went to see her dad and Granny had come to sing with their choir. Bruce was a grand sport to carry them down one of the main streets of Edmonton into the theater without a child in tow. I am sure he got some funny looks!

I was recently given this lovely purse as a Thank you gift from a family whose children I had taught. It has been a while since I have had this family's children in my class, so I was very touched by their caring and thoughtfulness. If you look around my neck, you will see the lovely Transit of Venus stone necklace that Bruce brought me back from the north.

June is not an easy time for me to get quilting done, but I wanted to honor a woman on our staff who was retiring from our school this year. She was my student's Cree teacher and enjoyed sharing the language and culture of her people with my kids.

The quilt pattern is called Sunset and I hope that she will enjoy many beautiful sunsets during her retirement. Happy Retirement, Mrs. C.

Like many of my quilts, Mrs. C's quilt does have a mate. This one is not yet quilted but we did manage to get is spray basted, so that it can be quilted one day soon. I love the richness of the colors against the chocolate background of the quilt.

It was a bit challenging to find a border that would work with the quilt- I tried many shades of brown before I found something that was dark enough but not too busy to clash with all the central color. The original pattern did not have an outside border but I prefer to have borders on my quilts, so that the quilt has a frame much like a picture.

Summertime has officially arrived for me. I am looking forward to some time to devote to quilting as well as some good Rest and relaxation. I do not remember being as tired as I am this year. I plan to sort out some of my fabrics upstairs in my sewing room as well as get a new quilt top or two completed. I also want to read a few good books. Does anyone have a suggestion that is this year's hot summer reads? Liebster award On my last post I was honored by another blogger named Brenda. Brenda I am honored that you enjoy my blog. One of the things that it asked me to do was tell you 5 things about myself that you might not know. 1. I am left handed- though I can write a few things with my right hand. 2. I am not good with heights and do not enjoy going on rides at fairs and carnivals. 3. I have two brothers and one sister. I am the oldest sister - can you tell? 4. I love dishes and glass. My grandmother loved dishes and glass and I share her love of baubles bangles and beads. 5. I do not pudding or cake. I much prefer savoury flavors. I am suppose to name 5 blogs that I love that do not have 200 followers. If you are looking for some new blogs to read you may want to check out these ladies or others that are on my blog list. Lots of great ones to read... I am going recommend that you check out some of these Canadian ladies: Cathy of Cathy Tomm's quilts- She is a local blogging friend and is a very talented quilter. I have admired her work for many years when I have had the opportunity to see it up close and personal. Michele is another local quilting friend who enjoys creating her own designs. She is a mom with young children and still manages to find time to quilt. Joyce hails from the beautiful western province of Manitoba and has just had her first show. She also creates her own designs. Pam and I have been friends before I ever became a blogger. We had the opportunity to meet a few summers ago and had a very nice day together. She is a nurse and lives on the Canadian west coast near the city of Vancouver. Carolyn is a dear friend that also lives locally. I love that I have had the opportunity to meet and become friends with people who love to quilt. She is a talented young woman who is busy these days with renovations of their house. Tomorrow is Canada Day. Hope you can spend it having a great time with family and friends. We will go to a banquet that is part of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's annual general meeting that is being held here. It will be a lovely dinner held on the University campus followed by a speaker named Chris Herd who will share some great pictures and talk about meteorites. I promise to come back with some new projects and fresh energy soon. Thanks for dropping in for a visit. Warmest regards, Anna